Minnesota Expands Pay-for-Performance Pilot

Minnesota will give three Minneapolis schools $2.6 million to finance a pilot teacher pay-for-performance program, Gov. Tim Pawlenty announced last week.

Teachers in the three K-8 schools voted to participate in the Teacher Advancement Program, a project underwritten with private and federal funds.

The money will pay for bonuses for teachers who raise student performance and stipends for those who serve as mentors to other teachers who help improve the achievement of their students.

Minnesota received $8 million from the U.S. Department of Edu cation last year to underwrite the Teacher Advancement Program. The federal agency had previously awarded grants to include South Carolina, Arkansas, and Arizona. The Milken Family Foundation, a Santa Monica, Calif.-based philanthropy, established the program.

The Minnesota education department previously gave a $2.6 million grant for the tap program to the Waseca school district, a 2,300-student system with four schools about 75 miles south of Minneapolis.